La fauna ittica dei corsi d'acqua appenninici in relazione alle variazioni del regime delle deposizioni umide

The fish fauna of the Apennine streams related to changes in the regime of wet depositions Some researches state that climate changes could represent the main threat to biodiversity even in lotic ecosystems in the next years. Apennine streams are particularly important for conservation of fish biodiversity in Italy due to the presence of a very large number of endemic species having very limited and fragmented range of distribution. The importance of Apennine streams for the conservation purpose, can be deduced from the species included in the categories most at risk of extinction for the Italian Red List of Vertebrates reaching the rate of 54% in Umbria and 51% in the Marche. The biological implications of climate changes, as well as physiological modifications, include the moving upstream of heat-habitat for many species and the reduction of physical habitat caused by the reduction of summer water flow: presumably climate changes will worsen the environmental restrictions above all in species living on the edge of their range, in fragmented populations and restricted to limited shelters. Other factors of human impact, such as unsustainably water withdrawals, the presence of exotic species, worsening of water quality, fragmentation of river continuity can also induce negative effects on fish fauna, which overlap with climate change and making the future outcomes particularly uncertain. KEY WORDS: Apennine / fish fauna / introduction of exotic species / Minimum Vital Flow